ZealousGolfer.com

In case you missed it, 50 year old Fred Funk lit up Turtle Bay with a 23 under par performance in three days of play. Hale Irwin spoke for the entire Champions Tour saying, "Go hire a hitman." Irwin finished 17 strokes back of Funk.

Funk's move to the Champions Tour couldn't come at a better time. The legends are gone. Arnie, Jack, Lee Trevino, Fuzzy is slowly moving to the end. The Champions Tour used to market legends, now the former PGA journeymen and those who didn't fulfill their potential dominate. Dana Quigley is no Jack Nicklaus and fails to please crowds like Arnie.

At this point, the Champions Tour needs a fun, exciting game to get viewers and sponsors. Lucky for them, those players are on the way. Fred Funk's success is only part of the new Champions Tour bringing PGA quality game to the senior fields. Greg Norman is planning to play more, and Nick Price is about to become eligible. Fred Couples will also play some events based on his back condition is the future.

Regardless, the Champions Tour needs this change to a more thrilling game. For example, an interview on Sunday with Peter Jacobsen focused on his hip surgery. Even devout golf fans had to find this conversation less than exciting. The legends may be gone, but if the Champions Tour can market a new style of game focusing on the golf and not the players, the seniors may succeed.

The Champions Tour now faces the problem of keeping its stars on their tour. Now that strength and flexibility are training focuses for today's stars, players will be smoking drives longer than ever. Fred Funk has stated that he would prefer to play on the PGA Tour for the challenge.